Begin Again
by gleewinchester
Summary: After about five years since being a part of the BAU, Ashley Seaver returns to the team as an official agent. Will she grow close to one of the team members as they take on a new case? Meanwhile, Morgan finds himself thinking about someone that he lost, and Spencer reconnects with his mother as things take a turn for the worse.
1. Guessing Game

**A/N: Hey everyone, I have returned to you. I am currently almost caught up with the wonderful show that is Criminal Minds; so naturally, I had the inspiration for a fic. Please be aware that I have not finished Season 9 at the moment, so anything I write that is not entirely accurate, I would love your forgiveness. That being said, I have had this idea for a while. I absolutely adore these characters and I am so excited to give writing them myself a try.**

 **I do not own Criminal Minds; I am not even an FBI Agent or anything badass like that.**

 **Enjoy x**

Penelope bounded through the hallways of the BAU, her purple and green, anything but sensible heels, clicking away with ease. She held this morning's case closely to her side in a manila envelope, while simultaneously tossing her curly blonde locks to the side. She pushed through the clear doors leading to the conference room, smiling to herself.

Morgan, catching her mischievous smirk, looked at her, perplexed, "What are you so happy about this early, baby girl?"

She raised her eyebrows, trying to remain coy, "Hm?"

Morgan, never being too fond of secrets, got up out of his chair and walked towards her.

"Aw, come on now, don't be like that. I got up at the break of dawn to come here to hear you present a depressing case. What's the giddiness all about?"

Garcia playfully looked away, "You know, just because we are soul mates doesn't mean that I have to tell you every little detail of my life, Derek."

Derek returned her remark with a humorous glance, them both well aware that they told each other anything and everything, even if it was better left unsaid.

"Okay, okay! I surrender to your chocolate charm," Penelope said.

"Now that's what I like to hear. Go on, spill it," Derek pressed.

"A little Italian birdie, or should I say, stallion, told me that someone is returning to our family today," she said.

Suddenly, all of Morgan's focus changed into one serious, quizzical glare.

"You're kidding."

"Oh, honey, I only play nice this early in the morning."

She swiftly turned away from him, beginning to set up the file on the table.

Morgan, left to contemplate, remained standing, as more members of the team filtered into the room.

"Henry is beginning to think that if Mommy gets up at four in the morning, it's automatically time for pancakes," JJ said, rubbing her eyes.

Spencer walked beside her, "Actually, the average American sits down for breakfast at around 7:31am on the weekdays. So, he's only about three and a half hours off," Reid stated.

JJ, taking a big sip from her coffee cup and sitting down replied, "Well would you look at that, I gave birth to a near genius," she said with a smile.

Reid noticed that there was an empty seat next to him.

"Hey, Morgan, are you presenting with Garcia today? Let me just warn you, the remote is a little touchy. But I think if Hotch had given me just two more seconds to figure it out when I presented -," Reid started.

"Uh, no kid. I've been standing up here because, apparently, Penelope doesn't want to share with the class. Isn't that right, Garcia?"

"Share what with the class? The case? Well, I saw Rossi in the break room, and Hotch in his office, so we should be able to start any minute," JJ said.

"The case will be shared my minions, but you'll have to sit tight for the surprise," Penelope said, matter-of-factly.

"See what I'm talking about?" Derek asked the other members.

"I've never been one for surprises," Reid said.

"Hey! You seemed happily surprised when we forgot your birthday and then remembered it with a _surprise_ party," JJ challenged.

"People find it very hard to live with guilt, such as the guilt as forgetting an important date having to do with a loved one. I knew you guys would never live it down, so I was only slightly caught off guard," he retorted with confidence.

JJ gave him a playful, "thanks," nudge on the arm.

" _Anyway_ \- this one might catch you by surprise, Reid. Come on, sugar, spill to them what you told me," Derek said.

Garcia threw her papers down on the desk, and smoothed her lilac skirt down in frustration.

"Since you all, and by you all I mean, _Derek_ , have been so persistent with me, I will unleash the secret that I was instructed by Agent Rossi to keep. Buckle your seat belts. Hear ye, hear ye! At sometime this morning, an old team member will greet us. And they will be taking their respective seat at this round table, for however long they desire to stay with us."

"Well, who is it? I mean, Rossi told you who it was, right?" Spencer asked eagerly.

"Come on, Spence, there are only a small handful of possibilities here. There's obviously Emily, then there's Elle, by a _long shot_ -," said JJ.

"God, I hope it's Prentiss," Morgan said, returning to his seat.

Garcia looked down at the remote for the conference room screen and quietly said, "Oh, I hope so too."

"But how could it be? Last thing we heard was how great she was doing over in Europe. I doubt she would backtrack after everything that happened with Ian," JJ stated, trying not to get her hopes up.

Reid stepped in, "Yeah, but we're her family. You always come back to family in the end, right?"

JJ offered a light smile to Reid, "In the _end_ , yes, but Prentiss is just getting started."

"Okay. So let's say it's not Prentiss. Are we thinking it's Elle? After all of these years?" Derek inquired.

Garcia shook her head, "No. No, she would never come back. At least not the Elle we all knew. That girl was tough and adamant - she's not going to come back to the place where she nearly died."

"Honestly..we've all sort of had a rather impressive near-death count, if you think about it," Spencer said.

"Kid's got a point, and here we all are. Alright, my money's on Elle. But my fingers are crossed for Prentiss," Derek said.

"Are we seriously placing bets right now, guys?" JJ asked, rolling her eyes.

"Wait. We're forgetting someone, I know we are," Reid said.

JJ raised her eyebrows, and then caught on.

"When I left...there was someone else, wasn't there?"

"You don't think it's -," Garcia began.

"Hang on, hang on...I got it!" Morgan said triumphantly.

At the moment of his epiphany, a series of footsteps entered the conference room.

"Good morning, everyone. Today, Rossi and I would like to welcome a past team member back on board," Hotch said as he gestured behind him.

"And she is very happy to be back - this time as an officially trained FBI Agent," Rossi commented.

Behind the two men, stood a familiar blonde with a delicate smile.

"Ashley," Reid said awkwardly, completing Derek's epiphany for him.

 **You might see where I am going with this, and if you were a fan of it, I would love it if you stuck around and maybe even dropped a review! I have a rough outline for the case that will be featured in the story so don't worry - I will try to make it as traditional as possible (although I am always better at relationships and character conflict).**

 **Until the next update x**


	2. Chicken Tandoori

**A/N: Happy update, everyone. I have gotten some quick responses to this story and some follows here and there, so I didn't want to keep you guys waiting (even if this is just a simple chapter). I feel like I should clarify things: I have decided not to use Agent Blake in my fic, not because I dislike her character or anything, simply because I just don't feel like she is necessary to the plot lines that I am working with. Because I am going to be working a lot with developing Ashley Seaver/possibly Emily Prentiss, I didn't feel the need to write for Blake. Whether you want to read this and imagine it after Blake's departure, I just wanted to state that. I hope that doesn't turn any of you away, since this story really does not have a permanent set time frame in my mind - since I am still watching the series while writing this.**

 **That being said, I hope you enjoy it and want to stick around. Let's get going. x**

"Seaver. Ashley _Seaver_. Sorry, that was, uh kind of informal," Reid corrected himself, having blurted out the young agent's name without a thought.

That earned a quizzical raised eyebrow from Morgan, who was always amused by the struggles that the young _genius_ tended to have around attractive women. Garcia stifled a giggle and relinquished a smirk, remembering how she had taunted Spencer about his momentary "crush," when he had first laid eyes on Seaver. She had bugged him constantly to ask her out on whatever his idea of a date was, probably every _Star Trek_ film on a loop, but he had insisted that he was not interested, and nor was she.

JJ, standing up to greet Seaver, broke the awkward silence, "Ashley! Welcome back. You were transferred when you left us, right?"

Seaver, suddenly feeling a bit nervous and out of place, answered, "Uh, yes. I was an SSA for Swan's Domestic Trafficking Force...but I, I missed profiling. I have to admit, there's no other team out there like you guys."

Rossi casually improved his posture, sticking his hands in his pockets, proudly taking Seaver's compliment. Hotch cracked a small smile, bigger than usual, and gestured to a chair on the left side of the table.

"Please, take your seat. We are glad to have you," Hotch said.

JJ and Seaver simultaneously took their respective seats, JJ with a stark confidence, and Seaver with a touch of humility.

Hotch knowingly caught onto Morgan's quiet demeanor, and attempted to coax him out of his own thoughts, "Morgan? Is everything okay with you? We're going to go ahead and present the case if everyone is ready...,"

 _It should have been Emily,_ Derek thought.

 _She was a part of this team. Seaver was barely a part of our team - never mind our family,_ he rubbed his eyes, trying to play off the excuse of a late night and an early alarm.

"Yeah. Yeah, Hotch, I'm fine," he replied blankly.

"Good. Let me remind you all that Seaver possesses excellent profiling skills that were not used to their best potential at her past assignment. I truly believe that her personal background and fresh outlook on the force will be a great support to us," Hotch reaffirmed.

Morgan pushed a smile, and Garcia could see right through it. She firmly grasped his hand under the table. He returned the squeeze, but only shortly, before pulling away with frustration.

Rossi offered a comforting glance to Seaver, as he knew that she was reading Derek like a book. She was anything but naive, and she was certainly attentive enough to realize when someone was uncomfortable with her presence. She tried to make eye contact with another person on the team, just to see if there was anyone who really wanted her in this room.

 _JJ was just being courteous and maternal. Morgan would show me the door right now if he could. Garcia takes his side in a heartbeat. And Spencer -,_ she thought.

She tried to catch his gaze, but he was almost hypnotized with the notepad in front of him.

 _He hasn't even written anything down yet,_ she quietly sighed to herself and redirected her attention to the front of the room, where Garcia was standing.

"Alrighty. So, if the welcoming committee would kindly turn back into the BAU squad that I adore, we can go ahead and meet our victims," Garcia started.

Hotch gave her a swift nod, willing her to begin before things got anymore awkward for Ashley, and she graciously took his cue.

Two pictures flashed upon the screen, a smiling, freckled redhead on the left, and a serious-looking, dirty blonde on the right.

"Lily Harman, 27 years old, high school English teacher," Garcia said, gesturing to the first woman.

"She was last seen leaving a staff meeting on Friday night at Glenwood High in Rochester, New York. Her husband of two years, Emmett, reported her missing when she didn't come home from the meeting that Friday. She's held _multiple_ positions in the New York school system, working her way up from teaching kindergarten to even holding some principal positions along the way. It seems like education is her thing."

"Moving on to our _second_ victim, 31 year old Melanie Rucker. Melanie was reported around Friday afternoon, and found this morning just shy of 3am, reported by the Rochester PD, in the _parking lot_ , of Highland Hospital," she started.

Hotch cut in, "Ligature marks on the wrists, clear evidence of a struggle, and one single stab wound to the chest. When her boyfriend identified her, he claimed she was barely recognizable - her hair was jaggedly cut."

The team scanned the gruesome pictures of Rucker, which were collected on the screen.

"So she's dumped at a hospital, in the parking lot,where she _can't_ get immediate medical attention - the irony might be part of the unsub's satisfaction," Reid inquired.

"Now if you had _let_ me finish, darlings, I would have told you that Melanie Rucker is _surgeon_ Melanie Rucker. She interned at Highland Hospital after earning her degree, and she's worked her way up to Attending since then. And, a pretty good one, too."

"So our guy abducts one woman, _first_ , and then sets off on a kill? That's almost too out of sequence for me," Rossi said.

"Two females. Both holding reputable job positions, both in Rochester. The killing following an abduction of a first victim is a catch, but I'll buy it. My bet is that Lily could be already gone, maybe just not in plain sight, like Dr. Rucker," Morgan said.

"That's it. That's the through-line, the _jobs_. Think of it, two females, both holding upstanding positions in relative distance of each other. They're role models for women, representing the career identity of females," JJ stated.

Seaver uttered her first comment, "In a generation where feminism is breaching through misogynistic tendencies, it's not unusual for males to get frustrated with the opposite gender taking more credit than they believe that they deserve. We might have a close-minded, old-fashioned, sexist on our hands."

"You know, I've always found gender studies extremely fascinating and they've started to take on an extremist fashion in these recent years. I agree with Seaver," Reid said, offering her a reassuring smile.

She thought of returning it, but then remembered how he had stared down at his blank notepad only minutes ago, ignoring her. She was sure that his "agreement" was rooted in Hotch's wish for them all to be friendly and civil. When he didn't receive any acknowledgement from her, he defeatedly returned to his this time, written on notepad.

Morgan spoke up, "Okay, but what's our first focus, motivation or Rucker? You really think that this guy is keeping her alive when he didn't keep Melanie alive for even 24 hours?"

Hotch replied, "We don't know if Rucker was an immediate kill, or if our unsub held her for a while, _with_ Lily Harman. He could be debating which one lives and which one dies, when he has two victims together in one place."

Garcia decided to encourage her team, "And let it be known, my heroes, that your reliable 24 hours to find Lily Harman safe and sound is certainly not up, yet, so get to it."

"She's right. Wheels up in thirty," Hotch routinely declared as he strode out the room.

"Wow, he still says that?" Ashley jokingly asked.

With that, Morgan got up quickly, and walked out of the conference room, Garcia awkwardly scurrying behind him, muttering, "Derek!"

Rossi tried to comfort Ashley's poor attempt at humor, "If it ain't broke - you know what they say," he said, proceeding to get up as well.

"And I still need more coffee," JJ said tiredly, as she grabbed her cup.

For some reason, Spencer was hesitating to get up and follow his team members out. He couldn't exactly pinpoint it, but there was something he needed to convey to Seaver.

He gathered up his papers, casually saying, "You know, I, uh, I really did agree with you on your point about feminism and gender boundaries. I could tell from the way you tactically avoided my encouragement that you thought I was faking."

"Why wouldn't you fake it? None of them want me here, and they're your team," Ashley answered, pushing her chair in.

"I guess we've just had so many people come and go, people start to miss certain ones," he replied.

"I clearly wasn't one to miss, then," she said, her head looking down.

"No - _no_ , that is not what I meant. Besides, hey, I miss that one time we ate Indian food together - at a rather unreasonable time to eat Indian food, now that I think about it," Reid laughed.

"Oh my gosh. Chicken Tandoori. I do remember. Well, in our defense, we were starved," she said, smiling.

"See, now that you're back - I can count on someone to have late night Indian cuisine with, _and_ someone with an affinity for Women and Gender Studies too," Reid said.

"I'm glad you think I'm good for something."

"I do think you're good. At other things too, I mean. Look, I know Hotch, and he wouldn't have brought you back if he didn't think we needed you. Maybe the others just... don't see it yet. Patience is a virtue," he assured her.

"I guess I'll have to take the wise words of Dr. Reid to heart, then," Seaver said.

"Most do, even if they aren't entirely accurate, which rarely happens. Although patience is a virtue dates back to something called, _Psychomania_ , where a proverbial seven heavenly virtues were listed to - I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"Reid, you're talking to me. You didn't leave this room the first chance you got, and you agreed with me in front of your team. _And_ you've reignited my love for Chicken Tandoori. So, no, Spencer, I'm actually not bored with your insane facts," Ashley said.

Reid felt himself blush, just slightly, as he pulled his bag over his shoulder.

"Hey, uh, by the way, I'm sorry I blurted out your name when you came through the conference room door - it was sort of unprofessional. I don't really know - why, I did it either. Sorry if it was weird, for you," Reid said, clearing is throat in between words.

Ashley laughed, "Please. Everyone else chose to stare at me in silence. You, on the other hand, remembered me."

They smiled at each other, deciding they should probably get a move on, knowing that Hotch values punctuality.

 **I love Hotch, I really do. I hope that it is starting to move along a little bit now, since I added the case in, Morgan's internal struggle, etc. I do know where I am going with the case...pretty much so, but please know that writing mysteries and crime is not my fiction specialty, so it might seem neglected at times. I ultimately want to include this case in the piece until I no longer need it for structure, and then I will focus solely on drama - what I am most comfortable and at home with! I know that Seaver was never well-received (Seaver, received, wow). However, I hope you guys warm up to her, since she is at the forefront of this story. I don't even feel like we got a grip on her personality on the show, so I feel like I am writing her from scratch. And DO NOT WORRY - I have not forgotten about Spencer and Maeve. I'll leave it at that. Anyway, if you feel so kind, go leave me a review to ponder over, and I will see you with the next installment ASAP. x**


	3. Realizations

**A/N: I am trying to keep the inspiration up for this little story as I make my way to Season 11 of** ** _Criminal Minds_** **. I currently just started Season 10, which leads me to** ** _further_** **clarify that this nugget of fiction really doesn't take place after Blake leaves, Prentiss refusing to return, or anything like that. If I wanted to set it in a definitive place, I would call it Season 8.5, somewhere in the middle. This leaves us more non-canon possibilities, wink, wink.**

 **Thanks to those who keep reviewing/following, I love it. In regards to some questions I got about Prentiss/my character listing and pairing, etc, I don't want to** ** _spoil_** **any of the ideas that are roaming around in my mind - but that being said, she will be featured in some way at some point.**

 **Just sit tight, bear with me (also bear with my horrendous case/profiling plot line), and** ** _hopefully_** **, enjoy x**

"Honey, I'm sorry, but I think you're overreacting here," Garcia said.

She sat with Morgan in her dimly lit "technical cave," she occupying her computer chair, while he leaned against the door, furrowing his defined brows.

He replied to her opinion with a disapproving look, ultimately letting out a defeated sigh.

"Hey, don't make me feel like the Big Bad Wolf here. Remember - it was your little routine that got my hopes up," Derek said.

Penelope let out a small laugh, "Like I had any inkling of who was walking through that door! I'm good, but not _that_ good."

She swiveled around on her chair, and the travel cup from Emily, the one branded with the British flag, caught her eye. She let out a breath, reaching for the cup, and placing it in front of her.

Derek saw her wheels turning the same way that his were, "You know we were both crossing our fingers that it was her, baby girl."

"I do miss her...I miss her geekiness, I miss her being a badass. I miss -,"

"...everything about her," Derek finished her sentence for her.

Derek's tone of voice caught Penelope's attention. She had a knick for picking up little inflections, when words meant more that the person saying them actually intended them to mean. She figured it was some subconscious little glitch, one that her brilliant agents hadn't added to their profiling skills yet.

She swiveled back around to face him, "What was that?"

He looked caught off guard, "Whoa, what was _what?_ "

Penelope pointed at him with her obnoxiously pink and fluffy pen, mocking an interrogator.

" _Everything about her..._ ," she mimicked, fluttering her eyelids.

"I didn't say it like that," Derek said defensively.

"Oh, but you did."

" _Oh but I didn't,"_ he mimicked back at her.

He waved a finger at her, "Now who's the profiler in this situation?"

She replied wittily, "You can't profile yourself when you're in _denial_."

He scoffed, "I think you're...oh yeah, what was it? _Overreacting._ "

He smirked, pleased with himself.

She stood up, whacking him playfully on the arm with a stack of folders, "Get on your fancy jet before I get Angry Hotch all up in my office...he frightens my plush friends," she said gesturing to the small assortment of plush desk companions.

Derek put his hands up in "surrender" fashion, and turned around to walk out of the door, "I'm going, I'm going!

"And - I didn't say it like you think I said it!"

"Keep telling yourself that sweetie!"

She watched him walk down the hallway, as she smirked to herself and popped back into her office.

Reid threw his worn canvas bag on the leather seat next to him. Morgan strode to the seat across from him, looking a little preoccupied with his thoughts.

"If our unsub went to such specific lengths to leave a victim in a hospital parking lot, it _has_ to be personal," Rossi said.

Hotch sat across from him, hunched over the case file, analyzing every single photo inside.

"So you're saying, if our second victim, the schoolteacher, ends up dead - it'll be at an elementary school?" Hotch asked.

"That's a pretty concise and consistent M.O., someone who wants their identity to be tied directly to these disappearances and murders," JJ added.

Reid cut in, "Every kill would contribute to a large map of victims, with destinations and dumpsites being directly linked to their respective careers. Which means, every time a new victim goes missing, you would match up her career with a location, and meet the unsub right there. It's too much of a plain sight complex."

Seaver, entering with a fresh cup of coffee, took the team by surprise, since they weren't used to hearing her voice.

"How do we know that this wasn't just _one_ happenstance of a kill? I mean, our unsub probably could think of millions of other ways to inflict his misogynistic idea of power on them."

"This son of a bitch needs a reality check, that's a definite. Sexism, racism, homophobia: all curses of the human race," Derek said.

Rossi and Hotch resumed looking through the file, as Ashley gestured to the seat next to Spencer, where he had put down his bag, instinctively.

"Reserved?" She asked.

Morgan tilted his head, analyzing the awkward tension, chemistry, or whatever was lurking between the two agents. When Spencer pulled the canvas bag off of the chair a little too quickly, Morgan laughed to himself.

 _"Lover-Boy,"_ Derek mouthed across the table at Spencer.

"Shut up," Reid replied aloud, by accident.

"I didn't -," Seaver started, looking up from putting a sugar in her coffee.

Reid quickly cut her off, "No, no, you were completely silent - I, uh - thought I heard someone call me a degrading name."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, nodding slowly, trying to conceal a giggle.

"False alarm!" He said, attempting a casual joke.

JJ looked back at Ashley and Spencer, then returned her attention to Rossi and Hotch.

"I think you did him a favor, Hotch," she said.

"Did who a favor?" he asked.

"Ah, you mean Boy Wonder getting a second chance," Rossi said.

"I was never aware they were a pair...," Hotch trailed.

"Garcia and I were rooting for it, I do remember that," JJ said. "But, knowing Spence, he never acted on it. I just think, I think it would be good for him. Maybe help him move on...,"

"From Maeve, you mean," Rossi finished.

Hotch sat back in his chair,"It's the hardest step. Someone new. Actually, it's the _second_ hardest step."

JJ inquired, "And the first?"

"When you realize that she'll never be _her,_ " Hotch concluded.

The jet landed.

 **Was that short? I think so. Sorry about that, I'm just trying to go step-by-step with this one, and treat it like an episode** ** _before_** **I go off the rails. Good news, I have outlined the case, so we can get right down to business and try to avoid as many road bumps as possible. I cannot WAIT to dig into Spencer's grief about Maeve/guilt about connecting with Seaver - so look forward to that. And, look forward to more Denial!Morgan/Prentiss, if that's what you're into. I was a little forward in this chapter with Morgan's "feelings" or "possible feelings," didn't really mean to, it just worked out that way.**

 **There are SO many avenues planned for this adventure, I can't even choose between them or keep track, so it would be a huge help to me if you review and tell me where you would like to see these relationships go.**

 **Maybe I'll agree x**


End file.
